Deck 3: Culture

Question 1

Who were the two anthropologists who studied the Hopi of the southwestern United States and concluded that language not only expresses our thoughts but also shapes the way we think?

A) Henry McKay and Clifford Shaw
B) Cordell Walker and James Trevett
C) Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf
D) Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The article "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" is useful to sociologists because:

A) it presents a striking example of an exotic culture.
B) it challenges people's inability to observe their own cultures.
C) it demonstrates proper fieldwork techniques for studying a different culture.
D) it demonstrates how different other cultures are from American culture.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

How is culture transmitted and internalized?

A) We are born with these values and beliefs.
B) We learn values and beliefs slowly and incrementally.
C) It is human nature to accept one's own culture as superior.
D) Values and beliefs are only taught in school.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What is the definition of "culture"?

A) Culture is reactions to ways people follow or disobey norms in society.
B) Culture is limited to rules or guidelines about what kind of behavior is acceptable and appropriate within a particular situation.
C) Culture is the principle of evaluating another group or individual as abnormal or inferior.
D) Culture is the entire way of life of a group of people, and it acts as a lens through which we view the world.

Question 5

The widespread use of plastic in American culture is no accident;plastic offers consumers convenience,disposability,and choice.These advantages of plastic are all elements of:

A) communication.
B) the development of the self.
C) symbolic culture.
D) the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

Question 6

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that:

A) although we have different labels for things, all humans share the same sense of social perception.
B) in social interaction, nonverbal communication is as powerful as language.
C) language can structure our perception of reality.
D) we relate to each other on a symbolic rather than a literal level.

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of something that would be part of a person's symbolic culture?

A) Navajo jewelry
B) Imported french wine
C) A Rembrandt painting
D) Belonging to a political party

Question 8

How is the study of culture different for sociologists than for anthropologists?

A) Sociologists usually study a culture to which they belong.
B) Anthropologists only study industrial societies.
C) Sociologists never "other" the group they are studying.
D) Anthropologists only study societies from the past.

Question 9

Why do ethnocentric people tend to view other cultures as abnormal?

A) They understand other values and beliefs within the proper cultural context.
B) They use their own culture as a standard of judgment.
C) They are practicing cultural relativism.
D) They are part of a counterculture.

Question 10

The tendency to use your own group's way of doing things as the yardstick for judging others is called:

A) Ethnocentrism
B) Culture shock
C) Cultural relativism
D) Self-centeredness

Question 11

Designer labels on purses and athletic logos on shirts are both examples of:

A) values.
B) material culture.
C) counterculture.
D) cultural essentials.

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of something that would be part of a person's or a society's material culture?

A) Weapons of war
B) Democracy as a political system
C) Belief in a supreme being
D) A preference to have health rather than wealth

Question 13

The ability to understand another culture in terms of that culture's own norms and values,without reference to any other culture's standards,is called:

A) Ethnocentrism
B) Cultural relativism
C) Cultural lag
D) Variability

Question 14

Recently,curators at museums have experienced problems with the preservation of plastic objects,almost all of which disintegrate over time.The Smithsonian collection contains the first-ever plastic toothbrush,which soon will be nothing more than a pile of crumbs.This problem is leading many historians to worry that we will lose the history of our:

A) symbolic culture.
B) signs and gestures.
C) linguistic relativity.
D) material culture.

Question 15

What do sociologists claim is the most significant component of culture?

A) History
B) Language
C) Multiculturalism
D) Technology

Question 16

What is the sociological term for signs people make with their bodies?

A) Language
B) Gestures
C) Sanctions
D) Values

Question 17

The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead said that the United States of America is the best place to raise a female child.Her assertion is an example of:

A) preferring high culture to popular culture.
B) ethnocentrism.
C) cultural relativism.
D) participating in culture wars.

Question 18

Which of the following is one of the functions of symbolic culture?

A) It provides material signs of values and beliefs.
B) It enables people to communicate.
C) It poses a threat to the larger society.
D) It aids the proliferation of Western media.

Question 19

Although many people believe that expectations for personal space (usually about eighteen inches for Americans)are innate,members of many cultures are accustomed to noticeably less personal space than we are.This helps demonstrate that people's expectations for personal space are:

A) the direct result of hormonal differences in the limbic system.
B) usually negotiable and not all that hard to change.
C) a part of our culture and as such are learned rather than innate.
D) something that is innate, more an instinct than something learned.

Question 20

In many Middle Eastern countries,showing someone the bottom of your foot or shoe is considered very rude,so American military personnel stationed in the Middle East are instructed to keep their feet inside helicopters when flying low.Why is this instruction needed?

A) The meaning of gestures is not universal.
B) Soldiers are generally rude and need specific instructions to keep them from offending civilians.
C) Americans speak a different language than Middle Easterners.
D) The sanctions used to achieve social control are very different in America and the Middle East.

Question 21

How are norms enforced in everyday settings?

A) By multiculturalism
B) By sanctions
C) By signs
D) By culture wars

Question 22

In 2005 the Northwestern University women's lacrosse team won an NCAA championship and was invited to the White House to receive congratulations from the president.Controversy erupted after their visit,when the official photograph revealed that several team members were wearing flip-flops.Despite the outcry,the athletes took the criticism in stride,talking about it on The Today Show and auctioning the offending footwear for charity.Given the reaction and the team's response,what kind of norm did the athletes break by wearing flip-flops to the White House?

A) A folkway
B) A more
C) A taboo
D) A negative sanction

Question 23

Marginalized groups in American society-such as street punks and skateboarders-often engage in activities that offend or annoy some people.One of the reasons people get so annoyed is that members of these groups don't seem to care that they're the subjects of disapproval.In other words,they:

A) are engaged in taboo activities.
B) are part of the dominant culture.
C) don't belong in the realm of mass or popular culture.
D) don't seem to care about negative sanctions.

Question 24

Which kind of norm is so deeply ingrained that the very thought of breaking it brings feelings of disgust or horror?

A) A federal law
B) A taboo
C) A folkway
D) A more

Question 25

How are informal norms different from formal norms?

A) Informal norms are always followed.
B) Informal norms are legislated by the government.
C) Informal norms involve dress and etiquette.
D) Informal norms are implicit and unspoken.

Question 26

A monetary fine,harsh words,and shaking one's fist are examples of:

A) negative sanctions.
B) positive feedback.
C) cultural universals.
D) situational norms.

Question 27

At the beginning of the twenty-first century,some people placed signs with crudely painted skeletons holding cell phones near roadways,usually facing freeway ramps.These signs indicated disapproval of using cell phones while driving,a practice some states have now made illegal.As a result of these laws:

A) almost no one violates the norm of not talking on a cell phone while driving.
B) talking on a cell phone while driving is taboo.
C) there are no real sanctions that can be used to enforce the norm of not talking on a cell phone while driving.
D) an informal norm has become a law.

Question 28

Which of the following is an example of a taboo in American society?

A) Divorce
B) Bankruptcy
C) Incest
D) Drunkenness

Question 29

Which of the following sequences lists norms in the correct order,from the most severely enforced to the least?

A) Mores, taboos, folkways
B) folkways, taboos, mores
C) Taboos, mores, folkways
D) folkways, mores, taboos

Question 30

Many people in the United States become very concerned when a restaurant tries to serve them a piece of undercooked beef.Despite the fact that many people in Europe regularly eat raw beef,many Americans express disgust at the idea.This suggests that in the United States,eating raw beef is a:

A) folkway
B) Multicultural feeling
C) Taboo
D) More

Question 31

It's all too common to see someone driving a car on a busy freeway while cursing and gesturing at another motorist whose poor driving has offended him.Cursing and gesturing are an individual's attempt at:

A) negative sanctions.
B) positive sanctions.
C) cultural necessities
D) taboos.

Question 32

The values,norms,and practices of the most powerful group within a society are called:

A) cultural leveling.
B) symbolic culture.
C) dominant culture.
D) alternative culture.

Question 33

In the movie Mean Girls,students identify each other using categories like "jock," "cheerleader," "skater," and "nerd." These classifications of different groups represent what aspect of culture?

A) Cultural relativism
B) Subculture
C) The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
D) Cultural imperialism

Question 34

In the United States of America,a married man who has several mistresses is violating a ________,but if he is married to more than one woman at the same time,he is violating a ________.

A) more; law
B) law; taboo
C) norm; folkway
D) folkway; sanction

Question 35

The slogan "What happens in Vegas,stays in Vegas" is an example of:

A) Moral escape
B) Moral holiday
C) Immoral holiday
D) Spousal infidelity

Question 36

Unlike a folkway,a more is closely related to:

A) the core values of a group.
B) formal norms, such as laws.
C) the dominant culture of a group.
D) the culture wars between groups.

Question 37

What do sociologists call informal rules and guidelines for behavior that is considered acceptable within a group?

A) folkways
B) Mores
C) Taboos
D) Norms

Question 38

Coca-Cola was first marketed in the 1860s as a patent medicine,designed to offer the energy boost of cocaine without the vices of alcohol.The new beverage was invigorating and popular.Today,however,cocaine is not just banned but widely demonized.This is an example of:

A) mainstream culture once approving of behaviors that are now considered deviant.
B) the tendency of the United States to become more puritanical.
C) the emergence of a counterculture.
D) conflict between the economically powerful and the rest of society.

Question 39

Which term describes a policy of honoring diverse racial,ethnic,religious,linguistic,and national backgrounds?

A) Cultural imperialism
B) High culture
C) Multiculturalism
D) Cultural relativism

Question 40

Many American colleges and universities require students to take classes on non-Western cultures.Why do these requirements exist?

A) To demonstrate that the schools value multiculturalism and to reduce ethnocentrism
B) Because many students will eventually work in other countries
C) Because many international exchange students now study in America, and it's important to give them classes they like
D) Because students are fascinated by exotic cultures.

Question 41

When the dominant culture,without the use of force,persuades the rest of society that its beliefs and values are the only or best values,it has achieved:

A) Hegemony
B) High culture
C) A culture war
D) Counterculture

Question 42

During the American occupation of Japan after World War II,the Japanese observed soldiers playing baseball and later adopted it as one of their favorite pastimes.This is an example of:

A) Cultural lag
B) Cultural diffusion
C) Cultural adaptation
D) Cultural reformulation

Question 43

Countercultural groups such as the hippies of the 1960s:

A) actually had a lifestyle that was similar to that of the mainstream culture
B) were considered members of the popular culture.
C) rejected the norms of the dominant culture.
D) are now seen as a throwback to industrial society.

Question 44

A cultural group that exists harmoniously within a larger,dominant culture is called a:

A) Counterculture
B) Cultural spin-off
C) Subdominant culture
D) Subculture

Question 45

In 2010 President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law.fox News and CNN presented vastly different viewpoints on the ACA,appealing to either conservative or liberal viewers,respectively.The media's handling of this law is an example of:

A) A more
B) Radical social movement
C) Counterculture
D) Culture wars

Question 46

When Patti Sue took a world tour,she had lunch at McDonald's in Tokyo,ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hong Kong,purchased clothes at Macy's in London,and was entertained at a Disney show featuring Mickey Mouse and Pluto in Paris.This homogenization of cultures around the world is called:

A) Cultural dissonance
B) Cultural leveling
C) Cultural lag
D) Cultural diffusion

Question 47

Sociologists use which of the following terms to describe a group whose values and norms oppose the dominant culture?

A) Subculture
B) Out culture
C) Subordinate culture
D) Counterculture

Question 48

The art historian and social critic John Berger has argued that the suit is the first "uniform of the powerful" designed for stationary life.However,many people in Western countries wear suits to appear professional or formal.This is why the suit is a classic example of:

A) Hegemony
B) Cultural diversity
C) Ethnocentrism
D) A subculture

Question 49

Which of the following groups is a subculture?

A) The Ku Klux Klan
B) Horseback riders
C) The Minutemen
D) A street gang

Question 50

Conflict within mainstream society about which values and norms should be upheld is called:

A) Culture wars
B) Symbolic culture
C) Counterculture
D) Hegemony

Question 51

When an employee is promoted instead of more deserving co-workers because he has a special relationship with his boss,this is an example of:

A) the way culture wars happen.
B) the role of high culture in determining status and rank.
C) the ideal way to conduct business.
D) the distinction between ideal culture and real culture.

Question 52

How is a subculture different from a counterculture?

A) Members of a subculture actively protest and fight to change society, whereas members of a counterculture drop out of society.
B) Both are distinct from mainstream culture, but only members of a subculture actively oppose important aspects of mainstream culture.
C) Both are distinct from mainstream culture, but a counterculture actively opposes important aspects of the mainstream.
D) Subcultures are not culturally distinct from the mainstream; they just occupy a particular geographic area.

Question 53

Which of the following is an example of a culture war?

A) One Democrat and two Republicans serving together as county commissioners
B) Anti-abortion advocates demonstrating in front of a family planning clinic
C) Christians celebrating Easter, Jews celebrating Passover, and Muslims celebrating Ramadan
D) The existence of both a football team and a debate team in many high schools

Question 54

Clashes over values in the United States,especially as represented by liberals and conservatives in the mass media,have been termed:

A) Value contradictions
B) Symbolic disagreements
C) Culture wars
D) Partisan politics

Question 55

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)was an activist organization in the 1960s that protested the Vietnam War,racial injustice,and economic exploitation.for the most part,the organization favored direct action and protest,most of which opposed traditional organizing and politics;instead,it sought a radically new form of social organization.Based on this information,you could say that members of SDS were part of a:

A) Counterculture
B) Subculture
C) Popular culture organization
D) Movement for cultural diffusion

Question 56

In the 2008 presidential election,Barack Obama took 53 percent of the vote,while John McCain took 46 percent.However,in the early months of 2009,when Obama's approval ratings were still very high,post-election polls found that a significantly larger number of people claimed to have voted for him.Historians report that the percentage of people who remember voting for any president rises and falls with the president's approval ratings.More people seemed to believe that they "should" have voted for Obama.This belief is an example of:

A) Ideal culture
B) folkways
C) Popular culture
D) Cultural diffusion

Question 57

When the dominant culture succeeds in imposing its values and ideas on all of society,this is known as:

A) Hegemony
B) Cultural diffusion
C) Cultural relativism
D) Cultural leveling

Question 58

Which of the following groups is most likely to be classified as a counterculture?

A) Survivalists living in Montana
B) New York taxi drivers
C) Students who belong to the Middle Eastern Studies Club
D) Members of the NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

Question 59

What do sociologists call the norms and values that people actually follow,as opposed to the norms and values that people believe should be followed?

A) Ideal culture
B) Applied culture
C) Symbolic culture
D) Real culture

Question 60

Sociologists refer to the norms and values that people aspire to as:

A) Ideal culture
B) Applied culture
C) Normative culture
D) Symbolic culture

Question 61

Because of their economic strength,Western media companies are powerful enough to impose their products on markets worldwide.This phenomenon is known as:

A) Cultural stratification
B) Cultural relativism
C) Cultural diffusion
D) Cultural imperialism

Question 62

Give an example of a gesture within your culture that may not translate into another culture's body language.

Question 63

As a way of facilitating social change,tweets and hashtags are a new social phenomenon in which people are able to use social media in an effort to:

A) organize and protest political policies.
B) communicate with a small group of people.
C) purchase items.
D) promote a fashion brand.

Question 64

How is culture shock useful in helping sociologists see that even what is most familiar to us can be bizarre?

Question 65

What is culture?

Question 66

What do sociologists call it when cultures that were once distinct become increasingly similar?

A) Cultural imperialism
B) Social control
C) Cultural diffusion
D) Cultural leveling

Question 67

The term "culture wars" refers to the extreme clashes in values that occur when there are conflicting viewpoints about efforts to change core values in society.Give an example of how social commentators in the media can facilitate a culture war.

Question 68

Even when sociologists study their own cultures,they often engage in the process of "othering" the people they study.

Question 69

Sociologists claim that culture is the lens through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on in the world around us.

Question 70

The french social theorist Jean-françois Lyotard described contemporary culture in this way: "One listens to reggae,watches a Western,eats McDonald's food for lunch and local cuisine for dinner,wears Paris perfume in Tokyo and 'retro' clothes in Hong Kong." He was writing about postmodernism,but what concept can help explain this mishmash of activities?

A) Technological determinism
B) Interpretive communities
C) Counterculture
D) Cultural diffusion

Question 71

Today it is possible to travel all over the world,especially if you visit major metropolitan areas,without ever having to eat anything but McDonald's food.This is an example of:

A) Dominant culture
B) Cultural diffusion
C) Cultural leveling
D) Hegemony

Question 72

Describe the difference between a positive sanction and a negative sanction.

Question 73

Describe an example of how mainstream values can change or fall out of favor.

Question 74

In the article "Jihad vs.McWorld," Benjamin R.Barber points out that "in November of 1991 Switzerland's once insular culture boasted best-seller lists featuring Terminator 2 as the #1 movie,Scarlett as the #1 book,and Prince's Diamonds and Pearls as the #1 record album." Many people worry that the prominence of American culture goes beyond the media and represents the wholesale imposition of American values on other cultures,a process called:

A) Culture war
B) Ideal culture
C) Cultural imperialism
D) Counterculture

Question 75

Describe cultural relativism.

Question 76

List at least four examples of symbolic culture.

Question 77

Because of Western cultural imperialism,American media companies broadcast shows in other countries that may clash with those countries' traditional cultural values.What are some examples of American cultural values exported through the media that people in non-Western parts of the world might find distasteful?

Question 78

What is an example of ethnocentrism?

Question 79

Norms are symbolic culture in action.

Question 80

Negative sanctions can only be imposed by an authoritative body or formal institution.